International Law Reflections

The Controversial US Withdrawal from the Iranian Nuclear Deal and its International Consequences
On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump went through with his threat and, this time, has not submitted his certification of the implementation of the Iranian nuclear agreement to the US Congress for approval. According to Trump, the document is the “worst deal” of Obama Democratic administration. He made his negative decision despite Iranʼs positive performance in the inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Decline of the Big Five
Is the supremacy of the Big Five, inherited from the mid-20th century, on the brink of its decline? Have the Big Five started to lose informal privileges which have been bestowed upon them over the past 70 years? Will that be followed by the reduction in, or even total abolition of, formal privileges? While answering all these questions in the affirmative would certainly be too audacious, there are signs indicating that the privileged position of the Big Five is no longer accepted without reserves. Veronika Bílková analyzes this current trend in her reflection.

The controversial question of Jerusalem from the point of view of international law
What is the basis for the concept of recognition in international law and does an act of recognizing a capital city even exist? Read our newest reflection by Veronika Bílková and learn about the way Israel claims Jerusalem, which is by the majority of the international community considered to be the capital of both states, i.e. the state of Israel and the future state of Palestine. The author also presents and critically examines the arguments of the Trump administration for relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Attack on the CEU in Hungary - Attack only on academic freedom?
In 2014, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has declared to build an “illiberal state” in Hungary, while constantly referring to leaders like Vladimir Putin in Russia or Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey as examples. This has been seen by many as a gradual march toward authoritarianism. While this – and many other policies – have been heavily criticized by many ever since, these have gained a new momentum with the prime minister and his circles turning against the Central European University.